Senecio condylus
I.Thomps.Erect annual to 40 cm high; stems commonly with scattered hairs, mostly glabrescent. Leaves pseudopetiolate or sessile, cuneate or cordate at base, narrow elliptic, narrow oblong or oblanceolate in outline, to 8 cm long, to 2 cm wide, glabrescent, often coarse-hairy on lower surface, undivided or lobate to sub-pinnatisect; margin with scattered or crowded teeth. Inflorescence corymbose, with up to c. 20 capitula; capitula radiate; involucre campanulate, 4.0–6.0 mm long; bracts typically c. 13; bracteoles present. Ray florets c. 8, yellow, ligules 6.0–10.0 mm long; disc florets 50–70, yellow. Cypselas cylindric, brown; those of ray florets 2.8–3.5 mm long, covered with papillose hairs clearly exceeding pappus ring; those of disc florets 2.0–3.0 mm long, covered with papillose hairs barely exceeding pappus ring; pappus of slender white hairs 4–5 mm long, deciduous, absent from mature female cypselas. Flowers mostly winter and spring.
Known in Victoria only from Coode Island, Melbourne, where it was collected in 1908.
The single site of occurrence of this species in Victoria suggests that it is probably not native to Victoria. Elsewhere in Australia it has only been recorded from Perth and areas surrounding nearby population centres, suggesting that this species may be introduced. However, morphological features such as markedly dimorphic cypselas and tuberculate processes on the receptacle margins are shared with the indigenous Senecio with reduced ligules, such as Senecio glossanthus, and may suggest a close relationship to these species. Additionally, attempts to match this species to overseas material have not been successful (Thompson 2005a).
